Culture at The Q

ISMs are ideals for all of our team members to follow and the secret ingredients that make our organization so successful. We want our team members to live by the ISMs. They produce an incredible culture that promotes creativity, enthusiasm and passion. Without the ISMs, we wouldn’t be who we are today.

“Our ISMS are the core beliefs that guide us like a compass and serve as our philosophy and the foundation that firmly sits under our strategy, tactics and decision-making. Our ISMs are WHO we are. And what we do is secondary to who we are.” – Dan Gilbert, Majority Owner of Cavaliers Holdings LLC

Our ISMs:

Every second counts.

Time, not money, is the most valuable commodity of all. Never trade significant amounts of time for small sums of money. Time can never be replaced. How will you invest the 31,536,000 seconds you are gifted each year?

Do the right thing.

The high road is not a short cut. Stick to the highest standard of integrity, without compromise. Character is what you do when no one is looking over your shoulder! Doing the wrong thing is never worth it. Remember, eventually three things always come out: The Sun, The Moon, and The Truth.

Innovation is rewarded. Execution is worshipped.

A great idea is just the first step. The real magic is bringing that idea to life with great execution.

Simplicity is genius.

Remember, you are you. And we are we. Meaning, when you communicate, remember that you are communicating to someone else. They are not you. You are you. They do not know what you know, because they are them and you are you. So, make no assumptions that they already know what you know in your head. Don’t start at chapter five, start at chapter one. As simple as that sounds, it’s something we often overlook. Many times simple is not just simple, but also better.

Yes before no.

It’s critically important that we live the culture of “Yes.” This does not mean that every single idea, question, suggestion or recommendation will ultimately be met with a big thumbs up. But it does mean that we respond to all curiosity with the mindset of ”Yes” first. Our bias is to the “Yes” side of life. This is in stark contrast to the too common approach of “no” being the automatic reaction to any expression of an inquiring mind – just because saying “no” is easier. The status quo is not our favorite state. We live in the land of growth, possibilities, ideas, innovation, positive impact and results. And the only path to that place is through openness to the unknown…. So “Yes” before “no.” And “no” only if we have done the work and exhausted all the potential of “Yes” first.

We eat our own dog food.

Here, we start with good people – who bring in other good people – who refer us to even more good people looking for home loans. We should be our company’s biggest fans!

Numbers and money follow; they do not lead.

Don’t chase money. Chase the skills that will make you great at what you are doing or what you are building. Become an expert. Become the best. Then, and only then, do the better numbers or the good money follow you. Pursue your vision with uncompromising passion and numbers and money will follow you. Chasing numbers and money first will leave you chasing your tail.

A penny saved is a penny.

Choose to value your time. Invest it chasing pennies and you will find pennies. Invest it on ideas, improving your skills, innovation, developing your talent, design, marketing, technology and your return will be more than just pennies. Pennies are something you save. Dollars are something you create. The choice is yours.

We'll figure it out.

Not everything comes with a set of instructions. The innovators of the world are often exploring uncharted territory. They find their way without a map. When blazing a new trail, there’s an adventure at every turn… and getting there is more than half the fun! All it takes is some common sense, confidence and unwavering will to succeed. We believe there is always a solution, and/or always “another way,” even when it seems at first there isn’t. Have faith: “We’ll figure it out!”

You'll see it when you believe it.

Do you believe it? Then you can make it happen. It doesn’t work the other way around. You can affect the outcome. When you believe it, it changes your actions.

You have to take the roast out of the oven.

Wrap it up. Finish the job. Execute! Over-analyzing can kill an idea and possibly make you miss an opportunity.

We are the "they".

There is no “they” here. “They” does not exist here. “We” are the “they”. One team. United. All in this mission together.

It's not about WHO is right, it's about WHAT is right.

There is no place at our company for typical corporate arrogance. Being a leader doesn’t give you the right for perks, it gives you the right to motivate others. Therefore, no matter how long you have been a part of our family, or what your job title might be, the best idea matters, not whose idea it is. It is never about “WHO” is right. It is always about “WHAT” is right.

Ignore the noise.

Will you allow noise to keep you from winning? Noise could be from naysayers, something going wrong, sun in your eyes, ball took a bad bounce, dog ate your homework, someone cut you off on the way to work, etc. A lot of things that seem serious at first glance turn out to be noise. The noise may fluctuate in volume, but your determination to press on in spite of it (ignore it!) will make all the difference to you and our family of companies.

Obsessed with finding a better way.

Our mission is a never-ending quest to find a better way for every process and everything we touch. If it’s good, let’s make it great. If it’s great, let’s take it to an even higher level. Don’t settle for less. In fact, don’t settle at all. “Finding a better way” is not something we do on the side or when we get time. Rather, it’s a key responsibility for every one of our team members. It’s our passion… our way of living…our obsession.

Every client. Every time. No exceptions. No excuses.

Clients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Could it be any clearer? A great company is built one client at a time. If you “wow” every client every chance you get, then they win and so do you. It’s as simple as that.

Responding with a sense of urgency is the ante to play.

“Urgency” is your inner compulsion and drive to get things done in a timely – yet thoughtful – manner. On this team, we return all phone calls and emails the same day. Not just to clients and partners, but to each other! Urgency motivates us to ensure we communicate all news fast – good and bad. We take care of it… NOW!

The inches we need are everywhere around us.

Opportunities for us to make a difference are everywhere, and usually they’re found in all the little things. Everything we do matters. If we keep our eyes open, we’ll see that the little things – the “inches” we need – are everywhere around us. It’s the 1,001 of these little things, or inches, that add up to be the DIFF.

Always raising our level of awareness.

As Yogi Berra said, “You can see a lot just by looking.” Keep your head up. Look. Be curious. Stay awake. Notice what is actually around you. Really notice. Everything starts with awareness. It’s a choice. The power of all of our future growth, innovations, and success is in the thousands of our eyeballs looking and seeing what’s around us.